Firefox claims world record after software downloaded 8million times in one day

The new version of the web browser Firefox was downloaded a record 8 million times on its first day of release, the software's developers have claimed.

At its peak, the Firefox website was serving 17,000 copies a minute. Downloads came from some 200 countries, led by the United States, Germany, Japan, Spain and Britain.

The total could have been much higher if the huge demand hadn't overloaded the servers for more than an hour.

Tuesday's release was delayed after visitors checking for the update overloaded Firefox's web servers. The site was slow or unreachable for about two hours from 5.45pm (BST) on 17th June.

Firefox Logo

Firefox comes from Mozilla, an open-source community in which thousands of people, mostly volunteers, collectively develop free products. Firefox 3 is available in 50 languages.

They were seeking to set a world record for most software downloads in a 24-hour period. Their claim is currently being assessed by the Guinness Book of World Records.

Firefox is the number two web browser behind Microsoft's Internet Explorer.

The latest version, Firefox 3, includes enhancements to help users organize their frequently visited websites and block access to sites known to distribute viruses and other malicious software.

“We’re really proud of Firefox 3 and it just shows what a committed, energized global community can do when they work together,” said John Lilly, CEO of Mozilla.